The Best Essential Oils to Get Rid of Warts

If you’ve ever had a wart, then you know how they’re no fun to deal with. These benign skin growths are ugly, embarrassing, and can get really uncomfortable. It may be especially difficult to deal with if you’re not able to cover it up with clothing. The good news is that essential oils are a completely natural way to effectively get rid of unwanted warts on most places.

Warts commonly occur on the soles of the feet, hands, fingers, thighs, and face which are all places where it is safe to use essential oils. Warts that occur on the genitals are not recommended to be treated with essential oils and should instead be approached with advice from your medical practitioner.

The essential oil wart treatments we’re going to share with you are not meant to be taken as medical advice. Keep in mind that you should always be careful when using essential oils as they can potentially irritate skin, especially on the face.

How Warts are Formed

Warts are caused by the contagious viral infection HPV (human papillomavirus). HPV itself has more than 100 different types, while only a small fraction of them are able to cause warts. When a wart-causing strain of HPV infects a cut, crack, or scratch on the body, a wart can then develop.

Being contagious, HPV can be spread through skin contact. It can even spread if you happen to use the same exercise equipment or hand towel that someone with warts used prior to you. If you already have a wart, you run the risk of spreading them to other people as well as other places on your body.

Who Gets Warts?

Warts are actually very common. In fact, most people will develop at least one wart on their body during their life, if not a couple. There are, however, people who are more likely to develop warts. Those at higher risk include:

Children / Young adults – This is because it’s possible that their immune system hasn’t built up the immunity to HPV necessary to prevent warts from developing.

Those with weaker immune systems – Having a condition such as HIV/AIDS or having previously gone through an organ transplant can weaken the immune system, therefore making it easier for warts to occur on the body.

Preventative Measures

There are several ways to help prevent the development and spread of warts on the body. These include:

Avoiding direct contact with any warts, especially your own.

You should not pick at your warts as this will increase the chance of HPV spreading to other parts of the body.

Do not use the same nail file, nail clipper, or pumice stone that you normally use for your healthy nails and skin for your warts. If needed, use a disposable emery board and get a fresh pair of nail clippers to use on healthy parts of your body.

No fingernail biting. This is because warts are more common on broken skin, leaving bit up fingernails and skin vulnerable to wart development.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of warts are:

Small bump or bumps on the skin that are fleshy and grainy

Skin, pink, white or tan colored

A rough texture when touched

Pinpoints on the bump – these are actually tiny blood vessels that are clotted

Different Types of Warts

There are different types of warts that occur on various parts of the body. The following list goes over the most common types experienced.

Common Warts

Common warts typically appear on fingers, hands, and toes.

They may also occur on other parts.

They’re usually small in size, rounded, and are rough to the touch.

Most common warts have a grey color to them.

A black speck or multiple black specks in the center of the wart indicates the wart’s root.

Plantar Warts

Plantar warts look like a small hole in your foot with the surrounding skin hardened around it.

They are more difficult to treat compared to other wart types.

Having a plantar wart can potentially make walking uncomfortable.

Black specks are common to see in these.

Flat Warts

Flat warts will typically occur around the arms, thighs, or face.

They’re small and are either yellow, pink, or brown colored.

It’s more common for flat warts to occur in multiples, while also occurring singularly as well.

They have a “flat” look that makes them less noticeable, hence the name – flat warts.

Filiform Warts

These are usually found on the face around eyes, mouth, chin, neck, and/or nose.

Filiform warts are small, skin-colored, and appear as skin tags.

If you look closely, you may notice small threads sticking out of its base.

Filiform warts grow fast compared to other warts.

Typical Treatments for Warts

Most typical treatments for warts are at-home products that include chemicals such as salicylic acid and cryogenic compounds. Sure, they are effective at removing warts which is why they are popular to use. That being said, even if products are able to get rid of the wart initially, they often fail to kill the virus. In turn, the re-appearance of warts after at-home treatments are relatively common.

Common wart treatments may cause negative side effects on those who use them. Most people aren’t aware that diabetic patients and those who deal with poor circulation should avoid contact with salicylic acid. Cryogenic compounds can potentially cause scarring, which is something you don’t want if you’re trying to get rid of warts on visible areas.

Essential Oils for Natural Wart Removal

A better way to treat warts at home is with the use of essential oils. They are extremely effective for natural wart removal. This is because these oils offer antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal benefits that get to the root of the problem (HPV), eliminate it, and prevent further development and spread of warts once the initial wart has been treated.

Best Essential Oils for Warts

You’ll find that most of them have their own medicinal properties that can help you with more than just treating warts.

Oregano

Oregano oil for warts is known to be the fastest and most effective essential oil for natural wart removal. The use of oregano essential oil should be approached with caution because it’s the harshest one on this list. Oregano oil is known as a “hot” oil, meaning it can irritate the skin and potentially cause a burning sensation. This is thanks to carvacrol, the active ingredient in this oil. Carvacrol can burn off unwanted warts, even the ones that are very stubborn.

Lemongrass

Credible studies show that lemongrass essential oil is effective at completely eliminating herpes simplex type 1 virus (aka the cold sore herpes) [Source]. This is true for the onset of cold sores as well as after the development of these sores. Lemongrass essential oil can even be used to treat shingles. And obviously, it’s a great essential oil for warts, which is why it made the list.

Tea Tree

Tea tree oil is one of the most commonly used essential oils for at-home treatments of various infections and health problems. Its antiviral properties make it great for treating an array of skin problems such as psoriasis, eczema, acne, scars, and especially warts. While it’s not as fast acting as oregano and lemongrass essential oils, it’s just as effective at combating warts.

Clove

Containing carvacrol, eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, and thymol, clove essential oil is packed with antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, as well as anti-inflammatory benefits. It’s also a natural anesthetic, being useful for uncomfortable and painful plantar warts.

Eucalyptus

Best combined with tea tree essential oil, eucalyptus essential oil can also be used by itself for natural wart removal. It’s a good choice if you already have it on hand or aren’t able to pick up a stronger essential oil.

Manuka

Manuka essential oil is most effective when applied as soon as a wart appears. This is because it works by preventing a virus’ ability to reproduce and spread.

Peppermint

Being very effective against some viruses, cold sores caused by herpes, and warts, peppermint essential oil is a great choice. It’s very popular for many uses and, just like manuka oil, is best applied as soon as possible.

Thyme

Thyme oil is antiviral and works against some skin viruses that are found to be drug-resistant.

Cajeput

Being derived from a plant from the same family as the tea tree, cajeput essential oil is effective against viral infections. It works best when mixed with tea tree essential oil.

Ginger

Ginger oil is naturally antiviral and works similarly to thyme essential oil. It’s most effective when combined with other oils that are stronger, such as oregano, tea tree, or lemongrass.

How to Use These Essential Oils

First things first, never, ever apply essential oil directly to your skin, with first diluting it with a carrier oil. While it’s said that the best carrier oil to use is emu oil, you can also use coconut oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, grapeseed oil, or olive oil. It’s always best to go with organic carrier oils as well.

Before going straight into treating your wart(s), you’re advised to test the desired essential oils on your skin first. Do this by applying the diluted oil mixture to your forearm and examining the skin reaction. A burning sensation and the skin becoming inflamed means the dilution is too strong and that more carrier oil is needed.

The following essential oil for warts recipes are meant to help remove and get rid of undesired warts naturally and should be used with caution. Make sure to either discard or store leftover oils to ensure it doesn’t get into the wrong hands. Ingestion of it, even if diluted, can be fatal.

Basic Wart Treatment Solution

Thoroughly wet a cotton ball with the mix and directly apply it to the wart(s). Use medical tape, a bandage, or fabric to keep the cotton ball against the wart.

Use this solution up to two times per day until the wart is disappeared completely.

Extra Strength Treatment

The following oils need to be mixed and stored in a dark colored glass bottle. The solution itself may be applied with a soaked cotton ball anywhere from one to three times daily. Like the basic wart treatment, the cotton ball should be secured against the wart during application.

The Most Extreme Hot Oil Wart Treatment

Use this mixture with caution as it features the use of oregano oil. If you have sensitive skin, this solution may be too strong with just 1 tablespoon of carrier oil. Adjust the amount of carrier oil to suit your needs. Store the mixture in a dark glass bottle and use it as needed.

Before applying the solution, it’s recommended to apply Vaseline to the surrounding skin. This is to prevent the surrounding skin from coming into contact with the solution. Use a dropper to apply just a few drops to a cotton swab before applying it directly to the wart. Use a bandage or fabric to hold the cotton ball against the wart.

For this solution you’re going to need:

1+ tablespoon of carrier oil

2 drops of oregano essential oil

2 drops of lemongrass essential oil

2 drops of clove oil

2 drops of tea tree oil

After Getting Rid of the Wart – Post Wart Solution

Use this mixture to help prevent the recurrence of warts. You’ll only need to use this solution for 7-14 days maximum.

For the post-wart care solution, you’re going to need:

1 tablespoon of coconut oil

6 drops of lavender essential oil

6 drops of tea tree essential oil

Conclusion

When using essential oils for natural wart removal, it’s best to start with the basic solution first, then work up to the strongest solution if needed. It’s possible that you won’t even need to use the strongest solution to treat your wart.

Remember, essential oils are not meant to be a fast fix for removing warts. Instead, they’re geared for killing the HPV virus aka the root of the cause. Listen to your skin reactions, dilute the solutions as needed, and enjoy using essential oils to get rid of your warts the natural way.